When an original buyer returns merchandise to particularly a mail-order or online retailer, the original buyer typically must first ship the merchandise back to the retailer (typically with the original buyer paying for the shipping cost), which retailer may or may not directly resell the merchandise. This decision of the retailer to resell the merchandise may be contingent upon the condition of the returned merchandise and whether it was returned in its original packaging and with all of its original enclosure materials. Further contingencies may include whether the returned merchandise is currently being sold by the retailer and/or whether the retailer has ample inventory space for the returned merchandise. In recent studies by third party logistics providers, approximately 60-80% of all returned merchandise is in condition for resale by the original merchant.
In the event the retailer does not resell the returned merchandise, the retailer typically out sources the processing of returned merchandise to a third party logistics provider. This outsourcing step once again involves the shipping of the returned merchandise, wherein this time the returned merchandise is shipped from the retailer to the third party logistics provider for secondary resale by the third party logistics provider. Afterwards, the third party logistics provider preferably inspects the returned merchandise, and then depending upon the condition of the returned merchandise, ships the returned merchandise back to the manufacturer, retailer or to a secondary retailer.
Thus, the above-described process is inefficient as it suffers from several drawbacks. For instance, this process is time consuming as it may involve several shipping routes, with each route necessitating handling and shipping costs. Another drawback is the inclusion of a third party logistics provider, which has its own additional cost and delays associated with it.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for reselling returned merchandise that overcomes the above-noted inefficient drawbacks of the prior art.